That came in part to drive the stocks price closer to its book value of $20.62, said Roger White, Alaska Pacifics chief financial officer.

The bank announced last week that its second-quarter profits were 37 percent higher than at the same time a year ago.

Alaska Pacific stock has climbed $2.12 since last Wednesday. It jumped 62-cents alone Tuesday, when the overall market was down.

A lot of that probably was due to anticipation of the buyback, White told the Anchorage Daily News. But weve also shown that we can grow the bank, and were starting to see the benefits.

Alaska Pacific is the states seventh-largest banking company, with $130 million in assets and seven branches in Juneau, Ketchikan, Wrangell and Sitka, according to the state Division of Banking, Securities and Corporations.

In July 1999, Alaska Pacifics stock (ticker symbol AKPB) became available in a $5.3 million initial public offering, White said. Since then, Alaska Pacific has followed an aggressive growth plan calling for doubling the banks size over the next three years, he said.

To reach that goal, the bank last fall began spending money to capture more market share while stepping up its lending. It hired more employees, launched an Internet banking site, stepped up its marketing and expanded its small business lending program, White said.

But spending money to grow has reduced profits, according to financial statements.

Alaska Pacific earned a $30,000 profit the first quarter of this year $23,000 less than the same period a year earlier.

The second quarter, however, was better for the banking company. Alaska Pacific reported a second-quarter profit of $81,000 last week, a 37 percent increase over the same quarter the previous year.

The banks loan portfolio on June 30 was $97.2 million, up nearly 20 percent over the year. Deposits totaled $98.8 million, down 8 percent.

Were delighted. Were finally getting over the break-even point, White said.